2201 Double Journal Entry # 10

Quote:


"Even students who perform well in school are often unprepared for the challenges that they encounter after graduation, in their work lives as well as their personal lives ( Resnick 2007)."

Response:


The reason I chose this quote is because I see this as a problem within our education system today. With the advancements in technology coming at such a quick pace it is hard to get students prepared for their future. The problem is that with technology advancing so fast how do you prepare a student for the future when you don't even know what the future will look like in five years. that is why we are trying to make our students creative thinkers so they can adjust to a unknown future.  

Here is a great video about creative thinking and technology.

References:


Resnick, M.  (2007). Sowing the seeds of a more creative society.Retrieved from http://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/Learning-Leading-final.pdf


Dr Geary. (2008). Thinking creatively: Teachers as designers of content, technology and pedagogy part1. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNoijjIrPT8

3351 Double Journal Entry #11

What is formative assessment?
Formative assessment is the feedback from teachers, peers, and even the student themselves. This type of assessment is for learning because it helps the students understand their own work.

What is the CENTRAL purpose of formative assessment?
Student learning is the central point of formative assessment.

Connect a best practice in formative assessment to one in research-based strategy.
Providing feedback is the research-based strategy that I see connected most to formative assessment. I see this because is formative assessment not mainly about feedback?

Give an example of how a specific assessment can be used formatively and summatively.
An example of this is using a rubric to formatively show a student what needs to be done.Then the same rubric can be used to give them a grade summatively.

Give an example from your field placement related to formative assessment and timing.
The only thing that comes to mind as far as formative assessment that I have seen in my field placement is the use of rubrics. I also have seen were the host teacher will ask the students a question about something on channel one news before they view it and tell them to think about it while they view it. After they view the news then he will hold a classroom discussion about the topic getting their answers on how they felt about the subject.

What are some strategies to help formative assessment be more effective when providing students with feedback?
First of talk about their strengths in the work they have done. Also do not overwhelm them with information.

Name two advantages to high quality formative assessment.
It shows the teachers students who are struggling and what they are struggling with. Also it keeps the students motivated.

What are some challenges to implementing high quality formative assessment?
The first challenge is that teachers do not know how to implement formative assessment. The next challenge is getting the teachers the support they need.

2201 Scratch Tutorial

2201 Scratch Post

Garden of Times

The first thing schools could learn from playing this game is interaction. By going to your neighbors garden you gain points in this game. The next thing schools could learn is customization. Everybody gets to build their gardens the way they want to. They could also learn the cycle of expertise. In this game you have to gain a certain level to unlock more stuff. One huge thing that they could learn is context. As your playing this game pop ups appear instructing you what to do therefore giving you the context at the time you need it. The last thing they could learn is exploring. In this game you can search for stuff to buy, go look at your neighbors gardens, and of course find hidden objects.

2201 Double Journal Entry #9

Quote: 

"Therefore it can be argued that in video games, failure is good as it helps facilitate alternate solutions to problems."

Response:


This quote is fount under risk taking in our reading. I chose this quote because I find this not only interesting but also very true. I had not thought about video games in this way but I do see the connection. When my kids play games and can't get by a certain level they will not just give up but will try several different things to get by that level. By doing this they are learning to find alternate solutions to problems and this is a skill that they really do need to learn. They are learning skills just by playing games that previous research said was rotting their brains, kind of ironic isn't it.


Here is a great video I found on YouTube about video games being used to teach students.

Resources:


10 things schools can learn from video games.(2012 January 20). Retrieved from http://www.learningingaming.com/10-things-schools-can-learn-from-video-games/

"Games and Education Scholar James Paul Gee on Video Games, Learning, and Literacy" Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNfPdaKYOPI

3351 Double Journal Entry #10

In every content area the type of writing is going to be different. The way a student writes in Social Studies is going to be different then the way they write in subjects such as math and science. If a teacher is not teaching how to write for their given subject then the student could easily get confused. By all teachers taking on the responsibility to teach writing skills this will greatly increase the students knowledge of the content being taught. I don't see why there should be a problem with this because as a teacher are you not being payed to teach?

4 Research Based Strategies


Low stakes writing assignments: In this strategy the teacher does not give the students long essays to do but instead assigns them to write short summaries on things such as the key concept of a reading or just having them do outlines. This method is basically short and to the point but it does help them with understanding the course content.

Provide multiple forms of feedback: This strategy involves not only teacher feedback but also peer reviews and even classroom discussion on the writing a student has done. By doing this you can take some of the pressure off of the teacher while still helping the student.

Sustained and intensive professional development: This is basically teaching the teachers how to teach these methods effectively.

Collaboration in professional development: This is teachers learning in a community or just by helping each other. By doing this they can learn the best ways to implement these practices.

3351 Focused Observation

There is a student in my class that has a hard time staying focused on the lessons being taught. The student has a hard time sitting on his chair and is constantly moving. The student is very smart but has problems with their grades because of their problem with paying attention to the lesson being taught. I have noticed that when we begin class by watching student news on channel one that this student sits still and is very focused on the news. i also noticed when we were watching a video about animals in Central America that other then fidgeting around in their seat they were totally focused on the video. I have worked with this student one on one and the student picks up on any lesson when you get them to stay focused on the task at hand. Also by talking to this student you can definitely tell they have above average intelligence. This student has been diagnosed with having ADHD and is now on medicine. I have noticed a big improvement from last semester when they were not on medicine to this semester were they have started their medicine. The student seems to start loosing focus when the lesson is more of a lecture then hands on. I also have noticed that when the lesson includes a video this student seems to be able to stay focused better. One thing that I have been able to do to help this student is when I am teaching the lesson I will call on them to answer questions pretty often this keeps their attention on the lesson and the student seems to thrive on getting to answer questions during the lesson. This student just needs a little reminder during class to pay attention.

3351 Student Interest Survey

When you think of History what do you think of?

2201 "How a Ragtag band created Wikipedia"

Response to Video:


The first thing I learned was that Wikipedia is managed by volunteers. I find this to be amazing that such a huge site is managed this way. The next thing that I learned was how quickly they fix vandalism on the site. He even points to were reporters have said they vandalized it and were amazed at how quickly it was fixed. The last thing I learned was that only about 18% of the edits done to the website are done by anonymous users. I thought that this number would be a lot higher. When he said that everyone on Earth should have access to all human knowledge I totally agreed with this statement. Another thing I agreed with was when he was talking about truth. Like he was saying your truth is not going to be my truth. With that being said I have to disagree with him when he is trying to say Wikipedia is neutral. No matter how hard you try when people are writing about something there will be biased opinions.

Response to "Wikipedia Pretty Accurate but Hard to Read":


I was surprised by the information in this article. The reason I was surprised is I have never found Wikipedia hard to read compared to scholastic Journals.

Response to "4 Ways to Use Wikipedia Never Cite It":


To be honest I have never used Wikipedia to as a source for any research paper. The only time I even look at it is for information like what is the most venomous snake in the world.

Wikipedia Worksheet:


The article I chose was on Ronceverte W.V.

Wikipedia Reliability Worksheet

Article title:

Answer the following questions to see how reliable a Wikipedia article is.

1. Start with the main page. Does it have any cleanup banners that have been placed there to indicate problems with the article? (A complete list is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_messages/
   Cleanup.)

Any one of the following cleanup banners means the article is an unreliable source:

This article or section has multiple issues.	N
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.	N
The neutrality of this article is disputed.	N
The factual accuracy of this article is disputed.	N
This needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling.	N
This may contain material not appropriate for an encyclopedia.	N
This article only describes one highly specialized aspect of its associated subject.	N
This article requires authentication or verification by an expert.	N
This article or section needs to be updated.	N
This article may not provide balanced geographical coverage on a region.	N
This is missing citations or needs footnotes.	N
This article does not cite any references or sources.	N

2. Read through the article and see if it meets the following requirements:

Is it written in a clear and organized way?	Yes
Is the tone neutral (not taking sides)?	Yes
Are all important facts referenced (you're told where they come from)?	Yes
Does the information provided seem complete or does it look like there are gaps (or just one side of the story)?	complete

3. Scroll down to the article's References and open them in new windows or tabs. Do they seem like reliable sources? (For help in determining the general reliability of a source, check out the Knowing What's What and What's Note: The 5 Ws (and 1 "H") of Cyberspace handout.)
   
   Reliable references: Yes
   
   
   
   Possibly unreliable references:
   
   
   
   Definitely unreliable references:
   
   
   
    

4. Click on the Discussion tab. How is the article rated on the Rating Scale(Stub, Start, C, B, GA, A, FA)? What issues around the article are being discussed? Do any of them make you doubt the article's reliability?

This article has not received a rating on the rating scale.

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5. Based on the above questions, give the article an overall ranking of Reliable, Partially Reliable or Unreliable.

• You may use a Reliable article as a source (but remember that even if a Wikipedia article is reliable, it should never be your only source on a topic!)
• You may use a Partially Reliable article as a starting point for your research, and may use some 
  of its references as sources, but do not us it as a source.
• You should not use an Unreliable article as a source or a starting point. Research the same topic in a different encyclopedia.

How did you rank this article (Reliable, Partially Reliable or Unreliable)? Give at least three reasons to support 
your answer.

I rank this article as being reliable. The first reason I ranked this article as being reliable is because of the references. The next reason is because when I looked at the editing history the only time anyone edited this article was to add more information about Ronceverte and not to fix any problems. The last reason I rated this article as being reliable is because I am from Ronceverte so I feel I know a good bit about this town and all the information in this article is what I have known to be true.

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2201 Double Entry Journal #8

1. What is Wikipedia?


Wikipedia is a online encyclopedia.

2. How would you answer the question posed in this piece "How reliable can a source be when anyone can edit it"?


Any sources reliability should be questioned so I see this source as being as reliable as any other.


3. Who do the creators of Wikipedia place their trust in when it comes to weeding out misinformation?


They depend on anyone using the site to weed out misinformation.


4. Why did founder Larry Sanger leave Wikipedia?


He believed it should give more authority to experts.


5. What would abuse or vandalism look like on a Wikipedia page?


It would be editing done by a government or business that would be for their own interest and could be very biased.


6. What do the statistics quoted in the third paragraph of this piece reveal?


That a lot of people use this site for their research and to post information on.


7. Why do you think Wikipedia is so successful?


I think Wikipedia is so successful because of how easy it is to use.


8. Why might Wikipedia's creators not want to accept advertising?


I think they don't want to accept advertising because if they did it might appear that they are biased for certain companies.


9. How does Wikiscanner help increase the reliability of Wikipedia entries?


It allowed them to check the IP address of anonymous editors exposing governments and companies that were editing for self interest. 

2201 Think Aloud

Thinkaloud

View more presentations from rodbourne.

2201 Website Evaluation

I chose to look at a site dealing with teaching students who have Dyslexia. The cite a chose is http://www.dyslexiavictoriaonline.com/howtecanacdy.html

Who:


 Has someone take responsibility of the content of this Web site? Yes someone has taken responsibility of this site.

Is information about the author or organization clearly stated? Yes they even posted their phone number directly at the bottom of the article.

Can you contact the author or company through a real world postal address or phone number? Yes both are listed on the site.

What:


Is the information biased in any way? The only way I think the information may be biased is in the way they feel is best to teach students with Dyslexia because others may feel it is better to teach in a different way.

Does the site"s information seem thorough and well organized? Yes in my opinion it does.

Does the site clearly state the topics that it intends to address? Yes it does.

When:


Is it important that the information you are looking for be absolutely current? Yes to a degree, it needs to be recent studies not anything from further back then two years.

Is a reference date provided to show when the material was put online, or when it was last updated? Yes at the bottom of the page.

Do the links work? Yes.

Why:

Can I get the information faster offline? No I can not.

Does the online material I'm finding suit my needs? Yes they do.

Am I able to verify this information? Yes.

Sources:


NA. (2011). How teachers can accommodate the dyslexic student. Retrieved from http://www.dyslexiavictoriaonline.com/howtecanacdy.html 

2201 Double Entry Journal #7

How might technology be used to support students in your future classroom who have learning differences like Dyslexia?


You should use technology in a way that it is geared toward whatever learning differences the student has. After reading the article "Words Failed Me Then Saved Me" I did a search on how to help students with Dyslexia so I could understand Dyslexia better. I fount a wonderful cite that I will link you to at the end of my blog. This cite explains Dyslexia and how it affects the student. They suggest using technology in the form of letting a student with Dyslexia use laptops in the classroom because printing or writing is hard on them. They also encouraged having them use programs such as Dragon Naturally Speaking. I feel by using any technology that would take a abstract concept and make it concrete would help a student with Dyslexia.

I recommend taking a look at this cite because it explains Dyslexia a little bit better and gives teachers good advice they can use in the classroom to help students learn that has Dyslexia. You can find this cite here.

Sources:


Schultz, P. (2011, September 3). Words failed me, then saved me. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/opinion/sunday/with-dyslexia-words-failed-me-and-then-saved-me.html?_r=2


NA. (2011). How teachers can accommodate the dyslexic student. Retrieved from http://www.dyslexiavictoriaonline.com/howtecanacdy.html